GROUP'S LEGACY: 2 SIGNS TO DANIA

The Dania Business Association, which is disbanding for lack of interest, will donate two new "welcome signs" to the city, group members said.

The signs will be purchased with the $789 remaining in the association's treasury, board member Barbara Bertino said.

One of the signs will welcome visitors to the city of Dania and the other will proclaim Dania as "the antique center of the South," Bertino said.

Bertino, who helped coordinate the project, said AAA Signs in Fort Lauderdale is to begin working on the signs this week.

"The organization wanted to use the money left in the treasury to do something positive for Dania and something which would promote the downtown businesses," Bertino said.

She said the organization's bylaws stipulate that any money left in the treasury after the group dissolves will be used for charity or to promote area businesses.

Broward County traffic officials must determine where the signs will be placed.

The Dania Business Association was formed in 1982 to promote Dania businesses as an alternative to the Dania Chamber of Commerce, said Joe McDannel, a former member who helped write the bylaws.

The organization started with about 100 members from businesses ranging from real estate to restaurants, McDannel said.

However, many of the members began to lose interest, he said. Additionally, some members seemed to be using the organization to promote their political ambitions in violation of the bylaws, McDannel said.

"It just seemed that we were getting away from our original purpose," said McDannel, who dropped out of the organization two years ago. "There were a lot of people who had differences."

Bertino agreed there were divisions in the group. However, she said she thinks the group ultimately dissolved for lack of participation.

"There was no leadership," she said. "I don't think it had anything to do with anybody trying to promote their political careers. The bottom line is no one wanted to do the work."

The group's dissolution may lead to increased membership in the Dania Chamber of Commerce, said Tom Sette, chamber president.

Sette said the chamber has about 300 members, some of whom were members of the Dania Business Association.